


forevermore

by wingsofadreamer



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Suicidal Thoughts, just midori tingz, lots of blood and flowers, midori cries a lot i'm sorry honey, midori is a gay dumbass, midori is sad like always, sort of a sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2020-05-31 14:19:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19427707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingsofadreamer/pseuds/wingsofadreamer
Summary: ❝ wherever i am, even if i'm dreaming, it's only you. ❞Midori wished he could forget about his sickness and stay in this embrace forever with Chiaki; forever warm, forever free, and forevermore in love.





	1. realization

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys i have been working on this fic for a. LONG time and i finally decided to go ahead and start publishing it! i'm really excited to show it to y'all because i have edited this. so many times and read over it countless times
> 
> updates will be sporadic but i won't take more than a week between chapters!
> 
> >>> tw for mentions of blood and coughing up blood

It had been another normal Ryuseitai training session. That's all it was supposed to be, at least. But to Midori Takamine, all he could concentrate on was the natural-born leader of the group, Ryuseitai's flaming sun of justice, Ryusei Red, Chiaki Morisawa. It's not that he wanted it to happen, it just so happened that Chiaki was constantly in his face, shouting words of encouragement every chance he could get. It just so happened that Midori's heart skipped a beat everytime Chiaki called out to him, smiled at him, or slapped him on the back.  
  
There was no denying it, really. Midori had developed a crush on his upperclassman, and it really made him want to die more than he already did. He couldn't bear the thought of him, such a simple, insignificant person harboring feelings for someone who shone so brightly like a star in the sky, ever so full of energy and compassion. He couldn't imagine actually being with Chiaki, despite the dreams he’d had about holding his hand… and kissing under the stars… among other ridiculously cheesy things like that. He didn't deserve to be in love with someone so... radiant, whose heart was filled with good, always determined to help the people around him. How could someone like him shine alongside someone as bright as the sun?

Quickly becoming lost in his daydreams and thoughts, he stepped a bit too far to the left, accidentally bumping into Shinobu, the smallest member of Ryuseitai. He returned to Earth as Shinobu stumbled and fell onto the ground with a small squeak. Midori sighed, knowing it was his fault, and held out a hand to Shinobu to help him up. "Sorry about that, Sengoku-kun... That was on me, I really should’ve been paying attention..." He sighed exasperatedly, but the small ninja looked up at him and shook his head. "N-No, it is quite alright, Midori-kun! There’s not a need to fret over it, I assure you." He smiles reassuringly at Midori and takes his hand, hopping up onto his feet so that they could resume the practice.  
  
The practice continued, and Midori ended up forgetting a few of his cues in the dance routine. Midori silently scolded himself for continuously spacing out while thinking about Chiaki during practice, of all times. When they were done with the session, the members all plopped down on the dance floor, refreshing themselves with water and resting before they had to get changed. The four other members of Ryuseitai looked worriedly at Midori, who was drinking water and checking his phone messages, tired after a long practice session. He looked at the others, whose gazes were starting to slightly bother him. "... What is it...?" 

Kanata was the first to speak up, his soft voice full of concern. "Are you feeling 'alright,' Midori? It is unlike you to be so 'distracted.'" Tetora nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was like you were thinkin' of somethin' else the entire time, y'know? If you're not doing okay, we'll be here for ya." Midori bit his lip, trying to think of an excuse that didn’t scream _“I have a huge crush on senpai, actually.”_ "N-No, I’m really fine... I was just distracted today, that's all… Sorry, I'll try and do better next time..." Midori looked down, trying not to be embarrassed at the fact that he had only been focused on Chiaki the entire time. He suddenly felt a pair of arms hug him tightly from behind, and he quietly groaned in slight protest. Chiaki's voice boomed out from behind him.  
  
"Everything will be alright, Takamine! Sometimes the hero struggles with hardships too! Just know that the members of Ryuseitai are here for you, just like stars in the sky!" Chiaki flashes Midori a smile brighter than any star he'd ever seen and tightens his hug. Midori blushed, then tried to pry Chiaki's arms off. Thankfully, his face was still a bit flushed from the practice session, so he barely got away with it.

"Ugh, I’m seriously fine..." Despite Midori’s efforts to get him off, Chiaki continued to hold onto him. The others couldn't help but lightheartedly laugh as Midori sighed and continued trying to pry Chiaki off of him. "Morisawa-senpai... You can let go of me now... This is basically harassment, you know." Chiaki let out a hearty laugh and let go of him. For a few moments, Midori could feel his heart tighten, and he could feel every heartbeat that followed. He dismissed the feeling, shaking his head and looking down at his shoes.  
  
As the other Ryuseitai members eventually got changed and went home, Midori had done so too, trying to hurry home so that he wouldn't run into Chiaki, or anybody else for that matter. He felt like could die from embarrassment from what happened earlier, though that probably wouldn't make anybody happy. When he finally got home, he greeted his parents and older brother who were running the greengrocer and rushed up to his room. He flung his bag onto the floor and leapt into his bed, reaching for one of his mascot character plushies to hug. 

He scrolled through his phone, unsure of what to do while he procrastinated schoolwork. He thought of Chiaki again, and how he was already looking forward to seeing that same idiotic, completely and utterly beautiful smile accompanied by his annoyingly loud voice, along with his pretty brown eyes and... Oh God, he was really getting off track. As he shooed away the shameless thoughts in his mind, he suddenly felt a slight itch in his throat, and immediately coughed to get rid of it. Feeling as if he had coughed up something, he opened his hand. In his hand, much to his confusion, was a single white rose petal.  
  
A horrible feeling settled into Midori's stomach, making him feel absolutely sick. It was like his entire body knew this wasn’t good. He got up and headed over to his computer and immediately searched it up, looking for a reason. His eyes flew across the screen, and when he finally found his answer, he immediately clutched his heart, coughing up a few more white rose petals. He looked back up at the computer screen with horror, dread, disbelief, any negative emotion you could feel at the time.  
  
"The Hanahaki disease is a disease caused by unrequited love. The patient throws up and coughs up flower petals when they suffer from seemingly one-sided love."  
  
Midori felt numb. Somebody could drop a brick on his head and he wouldn't feel a single thing. Midori’s lip trembled as he slammed his fists on the keyboard and began to cry. He cried, and he cried, until his eyes refused to cry anymore. Even then, he choked out sobs, not even able to grasp a mascot character plushie for comfort. The pain was unimaginable. Did this mean... Chiaki had never loved him in that way? Were Midori's feelings truly unrequited? If that truly is the case...  
  
He regretted ever meeting Chiaki.

  
He didn't know how late it had been before he had fallen into a dull, dreamless sleep, but waking up wasn't exactly a priority for Midori. Yet, like every morning before, the alarm on his phone blared a repetitive tune, making him snap his eyes open and immediately reach for his phone to turn it off, then retreat back under his covers. He started to drift back to sleep, but was immediately jerked back awake as he broke into a coughing fit, with it coming a good amount of daffodil petals, even coughing up an entire daffodil at one point. Midori looked at the petals with disdain and gathered them all up, finally getting up from his bed to get ready for the last school day of the week, Friday.  
  
As he got ready, Midori sorted through his scattered thoughts and feelings. Knowing that he had this... hanahaki disease for such a beautiful, bright person made Midori feel slightly more at ease, in all honesty. He would never get the recommended surgery for it. He never wanted to lose the feelings that Chiaki had worked so hard to make him feel, whether he was aware of it or not. How Midori felt about Chiaki went beyond anything he had felt for anyone before. He's simply grateful for everything Chiaki had done to bring him out of his depressed state. He had certainly been improving, and even Midori had begun to notice that change within himself. To take away everything that Chiaki felt, and everything that Midori felt by getting that surgery.... He felt it was selfish, and that he'd rather suffer a thousand times over than see Chiaki suffer like that.

As he finished getting ready, he heard a familiar booming voice from downstairs greeting his parents and brother. He took a deep breath and grabbed his book bag, slinging it over his shoulder and telling himself that everything would be alright and that he could face Chiaki. After all, Chiaki had always told him to face his problems head on, just like a hero...  
  
Midori headed down into the greengrocer store, said a quick goodbye to his parents and brother, then rushed out the doorway, pulling aside the familiar green curtain of the greengrocer shop. Chiaki was standing just outside, with that same smile that could rival the sun itself. Upon seeing Midori, his smile got even brighter somehow, and he gave Midori a quick hug. "Good morning, Takamine! Let's face the day with all we've got!" He pumped his fist in the air and laughed heartily. 

"Good morning, Morisawa-senpai… So much energy, as always..." Seeing Chiaki be energetic as per usual warmed Midori's heart, but with the warmth also came a sudden feeling of heartache, giving him the same itchy throat from earlier. With some difficulty, Midori swallowed the feeling down and started down the path to school, Chiaki right by his side. They made some small talk along the way. It was nothing special, but Midori felt at ease anyway, because he was talking to Chiaki. As they neared the school, Chiaki suddenly stopped walking and turned to face Midori. Midori stopped as well and turned to look at him. 

"Morisawa-senpai?" He mumbled as Chiaki began to shift from foot to foot, seemingly focused on the twirling leaves around them. 

"I wanted to ask you something, Takamine." Midori's heart skipped a beat as his mind raced with possibilities. 

"What is it, Morisawa-senpai?" Chiaki averted his gaze from Midori, the hero seeming almost nervous in front of his underclassman. "Ah, well... I was wondering if you'd like to spend the day with me in town tomorrow! Nothing special, just the two of us walking around!" Midori had to take a few moments to process what Chiaki had just said in quite the quick fashion. Just the two of them. Alone. Together. Midori's heart rate went up tenfold in a single moment as his mind came to conclusions before he could even apply logic to them. 

Chiaki was asking him on a date, or at least what sounded a  _ lot _ like a date to him. Midori took a deep breath, maintaining his composure as he looked at Chiaki. "That would be nice, I guess..." He responded, managing a small smile. Chiaki lets out a slight gasp as his gaze returns to Midori, and he moves swiftly to wrap his arms around him once again in a quick, but strong embrace. "Thank you so much, Takamine! You won't be disappointed, I guarantee it." Midori half-hugs Chiaki in return, glad that his senpai wanted to spend time with him. He felt his heart soar with a familiar feeling of admiration, and as if the flowers were waiting for his most vulnerable moment, he began to feel another bunch of them scratching their way up his throat.

Panicking, he pulls away from Chiaki, fumbling for an excuse to leave. “Ah… Um… Sorry Morisawa-senpai, but I have to go..!” Seeing as they had just arrived at the school, it was likely a reasonable excuse. “Alright, Takamine! See you at practice, don’t be late!” Chiaki waved Midori off and headed the other way. As soon as he was out of sight, Midori practically flew across the school grounds to the nearest bathroom, immediately spewing out red rose petals from his mouth into the toilet. He flushed it and stared at the petals spiraling down with dread, his throat not feeling much better and his lungs feeling tight. He exited the bathroom and rushed over to class so that he wouldn’t be late. Midori didn’t really want to deal with the day, and he just wanted to go home, but what could he do about it? 

His classes and unit lessons flew by fast, despite the many “bathroom breaks” Midori had to take, and soon enough he was back home. He didn’t feel much better, though. The thought from last night lingered in his mind. Hanahaki, unrequited love… Could it truly be that his love for Chiaki was unrequited? Did Chiaki only see him as a simple friend, as an underclassman in his unit? For some reason, Midori found it hard to believe, despite everything he’d thought up until now. He decided to set those thoughts aside once he saw it was dark outside. Midori felt a little queasy from all the flowers he’d coughed up throughout the day, but he did his best to ignore the feeling as he slipped under the covers of his bed for the night. Laying on his side, he pulled out his phone and checked his messages. It seemed he had received some new messages from Chiaki, so he opened them. As usual, the messages were bursting with energy, nearly popping off of the screen as if Midori was reading a pop up book.

RYUSEIRED:  _ GOOD EVENING TAKAMINE!!! Make sure to get lots of rest tomorrow, I’ll be there first thing in the morning for our little hangout!!! _

The next message had been sent a few minutes later, as if Chiaki had paused to think for a bit before saying something. Midori knew for a fact that he didn’t do that very often, given his nature to act on the first thing that entered his head.

RYUSEIRED:  _ I’m really excited! It’ll be a lot of fun since I’m with you, Takamine! _

Midori sucked in a deep breath, and before he could even begin to form a response, his exhaling was interrupted by a pang in his heart, accompanied with the feeling of nausea creeping up his throat as he coughed in pain, his throat feeling as though it were about to collapse. He coughed and he coughed, but as he hacked, the feeling spread throughout his entire body. He almost couldn't bear the horrid, nauseating pain that rippled through his entire body, namely his throat, until it subsided for just a moment, and he violently coughed. From his mouth spilled chrysanthemums, dyed red with blood, his own blood. The flowers fell onto the floor next to his phone, staining the carpet with red.

_ I love you. _

Despite his sickness that was clearly beginning to worsen, and the insurmountable amount of heartache he’d given himself, Midori held true to his heart. Though his vision was spotty as he stumbled to the bathroom, the metallic taste of blood fresh on his tongue, and the flowers continued to suffocate him, making his lungs and throat feel as though he were inhaling sand, he was fine with it. “ _ I deserve it, after all,” _ he thought, as he sank to the bathroom floor and held his knees close to his chest, his head crumpling on top of them, tears beginning to well up in his eyes as he did his best to choke back sobs. 

His head felt light as he walked back into his room and did his best to clean up the mess of flowers on the floor, moving the rug in his room to cover the bloodstains on the carpet so that his flowery laments would be unseen to anyone who entered his room. He shivered as he crawled into bed, his throat still feeling as though he had gotten a cold ten times over. He could still feel the scratchy anticipation of the flowers just itching to climb up his throat as he drifted into yet another dreamless sleep.

Everything was a void. Everything was dark, with no light as Midori floated through nothingness, his knees pulled close to his chest as he shut his eyes to block out anything, everything that appeared within this dark void. It felt suffocating, like a room whose walls were closing on all sides, trapping him in an endless, unknown space as he found it harder and harder to breathe until he coughed, and the world around him erupted and burst into bloodied flowers. His eyes snapped open, quickly returning to the real world as he noticed he’d been tightly clutching one of the plushies he kept on his bed. Midori tried to breathe, but instead of the usual sigh, he found himself nearly doubling over.

  
Rushing to the trash can in his room he quickly expelled the different flowers that crawled up his throat. Azaleas, red carnations, salvias, and yellow jasmines fell into the awaiting trash bag, the colorful arrangement sullied by the drops of blood that Midori had coughed up right after, his body nearly giving in and collapsing right then and there. The world around him was a flurry of dancing spots, and it was quickly growing darker as the floor suddenly became a ship at sea, rocking violently this way and that as he managed to drag his trash can over to his bed and grab his phone. All he could muster was a simple _“Sorry senpai, can’t make it”_ text to Chiaki, before collapsing and returning to the dark, unrelenting void of nothingness.


	2. promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopeful promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back :') this is one of my favorite portions of the fic so i hope you enjoy!

He didn’t know how long it had been since he had passed out, but by the time he opened his heavy eyelids, a splitting headache welcomed him back to reality, and he groaned and lifted his arm to rest a hand on his head. To his surprise, he was welcomed with a slightly cool and damp towel that was laid across his forehead. As Midori focused his eyes a little more, he realized that someone was in the room at him, eagerly sitting up from his slumped pose as he scooted Midori’s desk chair toward the bed. The red jacket that they wore and the short brown hair confirmed his suspicions as everything in his mind shouted  _ no, no, no _ .

“Takamine! You’re awake… Are you feeling alright? Is everything okay?!” Chiaki’s volume was still slightly raised as usual, but his words were gentle, his tone as soft as he could probably muster, as though he were trying his very best to be the quietest he could for Midori’s comfort. Midori shifted in bed, trying not to panic because  _ Chiaki Morisawa _ was in  _ his room. _ If Midori could choose any moment to immediately just drop dead, now would be the perfect time. “Senpai… Why… are you....” Midori could barely croak out a few words in a hoarse voice before he felt  _ them _ creeping up his throat again, his breath hitching, his heart beginning to beat faster as Chiaki scooted even closer to his bedside with an expression of concern.

“Don’t push yourself too much, Takamine!! It’s important to get your rest!” Chiaki nudged a glass of water toward him, and Midori quickly took it, gulping the glass down in record time and hopefully swallowing the flowers that had piled up in his throat too. He handed the glass back to Chiaki and exhaled loudly, finally feeling okay enough to form words without immediately coughing after. “Senpai… What are you doing here? This is so embarrassing, I haven’t cleaned my room in so long… Don’t tell me you went through my stuff… Ahh, I want to die…” He mumbled and laid back, pulling the covers over his face. Maybe Chiaki would disappear if he waited under the covers long enough.

Much to his dismay, Chiaki remained by his bedside. “I got your text, and it was just so vague, and I got so worried!!!” His face seemed as though it were about to burst from concern for Midori, and he practically leaned over him, his hand pulling the covers back down so that he could see Midori’s eyes. Midori tried his best to swallow what would soon come back up his throat and averted his gaze away from Chiaki, trying his best to not let his heart run loose with his feelings. “...Sorry, Morisawa-senpai... “ He barely managed a mumble, the sickness combined with the covers over his mouth muffling his words. Chiaki chuckled gently and rested a hand on Midori’s forehead. “It’s alright! We can always go into town another day, you know!” Midori blushed under the covers and rolled over onto his side, facing away from Chiaki.

“You don’t have to take care of me, you know…” Midori shakily spoke, but Chiaki shook his head. “I do!! You’re important to Ryuseitai, Takamine! Everyone would worry if you just stopped showing up, you know? You have people who are important to you, like your classmates and your clubmates and your unit mates! And your upperclassmen…” Chiaki trailed off as he was listing people, looking to the side. “If you weren’t there, Takamine, it wouldn’t be the same! So, please… Depend on me! Come to me, if you need anything, anything at all! I’ll be here for you when you’re in a pinch, Takamine! I’ll be your hero!” Midori turned back to Chiaki, almost gasping as Chiaki’s words reached his heart and resonated within him. Something about his words filled Midori with warmth, and his passion for Chiaki was instantly reignited within his heart.

Truly, Midori was in love with this hero of justice.

But with that love that blossomed forth feelings of warmth that hugged his heart and made him feel free, came love that sprouted prickly, spindly thorns and strings that wrapped themselves around his heart, and his love for Chiaki would become almost too much to bear, his heart feeling as though it were being split in half by the sheer emotional dilemma it had been forced to face. Midori wanted to be far, far away from here. He wanted to be able to love Chiaki without having to fight a disease that would slowly kill him. There was an easy end to this, but even so, he’d really rather die than ever lose these feelings that he felt.  _ How hypocritical of me _ , he thought bitterly.  _ I really do want to die, and yet… I... _

Midori couldn’t stop the red rose petals that spilled from his mouth, sitting up and violently coughing up more and more as they piled up on top of his lap. He panicked, looking over to Chiaki who was already nudging the trash bin toward him, and he swept up what he could into it before placing it back down on the ground. Midori looked at him with a shocked expression, still covering his mouth as if to keep any stray petals from escaping his mouth. “Senpai… I…” He failed to form a single sentence as his emotions overcame him, and he choked back a sob as he held his face in his hands, trying to stop the tears that flowed from his eyes. He didn’t want to see Chiaki’s face. He didn’t want Chiaki to see him like this. He wanted to die. He wanted to die right now, in a pile of red rose petals caused by the one he loved most.

Chiaki’s expression changed, unreadable as he got up from his chair and climbed onto the bed next to Midori, sitting on his knees. He wordlessly wrapped his arms around Midori, embracing him and pulling him closer, his grip around him strong, but gentle, as though Midori were a fragile object, in danger of breaking if treated too carelessly. Midori quietly buried his head in Chiaki’s jacket, his sobs muffled by the warm fabric. Midori wished he could forget about his sickness and stay in this embrace forever with Chiaki, forever warm, forever free, and forevermore in love, his heart aching with an unspoken promise, and an unspoken confession.

After a while, Chiaki pulled back from the hug and Midori sniffled, rubbing his eyes with his pajama sleeve. That really hadn’t helped to clear up his throat by any means, if not clogged it up more, but somehow, things felt better with Chiaki. Everything about Chiaki seemed to heal him, like every cute mascot character he’d ever gotten the opportunity to see or touch had combined into one human person, his touch softer and warmer than any plushie he’d ever seen or felt. How was it that Chiaki’s affection made Midori feel ever so tender, yet everything Midori felt towards Chiaki caused himself only suffering…?  _ Maybe I’m suffering so that senpai never has to suffer _ , he thought.

Midori was fine with that.

He returned back to his room from the depths of his mind when Chiaki cleared his throat. He turned back to Chiaki and looked into his brown eyes, expression serious and full of concern, yet so gentle at the same time. He looked to the side to where the trash bin was at, then back at Midori. “Takamine… I know what this is.” Chiaki said quietly, to which Midori froze. The room was silent for a moment, until Chiaki’s voice broke the silence again, asking the question Midori had so dreaded from the first day of this horrible, horrible disease.

“Who is it?”

Chiaki’s words echoed in his head, and Midori’s stomach dropped as he gulped, not sure how to go about the question. He couldn’t tell him, not in a million years. Chiaki didn’t like him back, so what was the point? Telling him wouldn’t end his suffering, it’d only cause him more suffering, his mind told him. Midori didn’t want Chiaki to be weighed down by his feelings. He didn’t want to cause Chiaki pain. He wanted to die. He’d rather die than tell Chiaki anything about how he felt. He sucked in a breath, then exhaled shakily, looking towards Chiaki sadly, whose smile almost faltered at the look Midori had given him. 

“I-I… I’m sorry, senpai,” Midori looked down, his gaze faraway and deep in thought. “...But I can’t say who it is. It’s not important, really.”

There was silence for what seemed like an entire year to Midori. “That’s alright, Takamine. You don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable,” Chiaki pursed his lips, deep in thought as he carefully picked his words, something he didn’t usually do. He looked back up at Midori, gazing intently into his once brilliant blue irises, dulled by heartache.

“...But promise me something, Takamine.”

“What is it..?”

It was evident in Chiaki’s eyes that he was serious, extremely serious, and his words were quiet as he spoke. “Promise me you’ll tell them, whoever it is. This disease… it’ll kill you slowly. It’ll cause you a lot of pain until you’re on your deathbed, and even then… It hurts. It hurts a lot to see someone you care about suffer because of something like that, you know? It’s better to be up front with your feelings, even if you’re scared, at least, that’s what I thought…” Chiaki looks down, beginning to become lost in his thoughts as he continued to ramble.

“It’s hard for some people, though. Well, really, it’s hard for everyone.”

Midori was silent, listening curiously to Chiaki, absorbing his words. “Haha, you’re probably wondering how I know so much about this disease of yours,” Chiaki heaved a sigh, as though it hurt to look back on the story he was about to tell. “Well, last year, a good friend of mine-- Kiryu, he… caught the same thing for the student council vice president. It nearly killed him. He didn’t want to get surgery, and he didn’t want to tell Hasumi either, he thought that he didn’t have any chance against… Well, that part doesn’t matter.”

Chiaki’s eyes were distant, reminiscent of the past that he never tried to look back on. “I found out after he told me. Back then, I wasn’t really worthy enough to call myself a hero, but… I tried to help him the best I could. He still thinks he owes me for it, he tells me he doesn’t know how he’ll ever be able to thank me for pushing him to just confess his feelings. I mean, it basically saved his life, but I hardly did anything! I was just... a coward back then." Midori had never seen Chiaki’s usual everyday smile falter so much. He wondered how much his disease really could affect the people close to him, especially Chiaki.

“Anyway… Kiryu was on his deathbed. Everyone was worried for him, but… He and Hasumi eventually talked it out, and the disease just sort of… went away after he told Hasumi. The flowers just stopped coming, and his lungs and chest cleared up.” Chiaki looks up, chuckling heartily. “They’re happy together now, though, and that’s what matters!” He seems to be back to his usual energetic nature, but as he looks back at Midori, the seriousness remains in his gaze, almost burning a hole through Midori’s chest. “That’s why I told you this… Takamine.” 

“No matter the consequences, I want you to tell them how you feel. Promise me you will, before it kills you. Before you’re gone… Please…! I promise, I’ll do anything I can to help you, anything! I’m promising this to you because... I treasure you, Takamine. I treasure your life more than anything right now. So many other people do too. That’s why I want you to promise me that in return.”

Midori almost wanted to tell him right then and there.

But he couldn’t.

Not when he just  _ knew _ that he didn’t love him back.

There was no happy ending like Kuro’s ending for Midori. Telling “them” would only result in a desolate, empty, one-track path that would lead to an inevitable darkness, an inevitable void that would spring from the hole in his heart. Chiaki’s words… were just faux. They weren’t meant for Midori, they were meant for Chiaki’s image of Midori, the Midori that Chiaki saw as a fellow comrade, Ryusei Green, the flames of compassion!

He didn’t see the Midori that hid like a coward, the Midori that coughed up flowers and suffered every single minute in the day for the one he love. The Midori that, despite everything, loved Chiaki, loved him more than his tiny heart could ever bear. But what did this Midori know about love? All Midori knew was that Chiaki didn’t _ love _ him like he did. He  _ can’t  _ love Midori, because how could he see  _ this  _ side of Midori and ever even  _ hope _ to fall in love with it?

The word floated through Midori’s mind.  _ Hope _ . No, there wasn’t even a glimmer of hope to begin with, from the moment Midori had first realized his own feelings for Chiaki. Even so, he wanted to at least instill the slightest amount of hope within his senpai, despite having none himself. Midori looked up at Chiaki sitting on his bed, mustering the little confidence he had left and channeling it into his voice.

“...I promise, Morisawa-senpai.”

And maybe it wasn’t just an empty promise made for a false hope. Maybe those words held some truth to them, too. But Midori wouldn’t even think of acting on that promise for a long while. Though, the fact that his promise wasn’t empty was enough to show that Midori had not lost all hope throughout the suffering he’d bore over the past few days.

“...That’s all I wanted to hear, Takamine. Thank you.”

Chiaki’s words are accompanied by another hug, and suddenly Midori is enveloped again in the safe, warm embrace of his unit leader, his hero, his lover. But Chiaki didn’t know that Midori felt that way about him. He wasn’t sure how he’d be able to ever tell him about his feelings. For now, Midori simply wrapped his arms around Chiaki and cherished the warm energy that Ryusei Red had sent his way.

Surely someday he’d have the same courage that Chiaki had.


	3. genuinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midori's feelings were genuine, and so were everyone else's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops its already been a week sorry y'all i've been slacking on editing this fic aaa
> 
> >>> tw warning for a little bit of blood and slight emeto

Chiaki stayed until sunset, working on his homework and unit papers while Midori rested, bringing in warm soup and the meals that Midori’s mother had made for him. Ever so often, he’d get up from Midori’s desk and sit by his bedside, laying a gentle, warm hand on his forehead to check up on his body temperature. Unbeknownst to Chiaki, Midori had taken to lying on his side and watching how Chiaki’s lips pursed together in concentration as his pencil glided across his paper, watching the way his eyebrows knitted in frustration when he’d gotten to working on his math homework, and watching the way he stuck out his tongue slightly and smiled to himself when he was busy brainstorming ideas for Ryuseitai’s next live.

God, he really did love everything about Chiaki. Even when he was incessantly loud, clingy, and annoying, Midori found him quite nearly irresistible in his own, unique way. Chiaki somehow just made Midori fall head over heels for him by being… well, Chiaki. He rolled over again as he felt a tickling sensation in his throat, closing his eyes to try and get his mind off of it. Eventually, Chiaki got up from his chair and looked at Midori’s now sleeping form, simply a large bump under the mound of blankets. He smiled and turned off the lights in Midori’s room, leaving the lamp that dimly lit the room on so that Midori wouldn’t be lost in darkness.

  
  


...

A week had passed since the day Chiaki had found out about Midori’s disease. Midori got better by the end of that weekend and was able to go to school on Monday, much to his dismay. Of course, he was still coughing flowers like there was no tomorrow, but as the week became weeks, and weeks became months, Midori had grown used to hiding the flowers, whether it be coughing into his cardigan, or running to the bathroom during practice. As the falling leaves turned into snowflakes, and the air grew chilly enough to see the frosty breath of others in the air, Midori’s feelings remained unspoken. 

It was a weird feeling, and a bit shocking considering how he’d been the first few weeks of having the disease, but he seemed to have developed an immunity of sorts to the disease. Or so he thought 3 minutes ago, until a wave of nausea had become too overwhelming for Midori during lunch, and he’d rushed off to the restrooms again, coughing and hacking until he’d emptied the contents of his stomach, accompanied by enough flowers to arrange probably ten bouquets. He sighed and sat for a bit on the toilet seat, wondering for the thousandth time if keeping the flowers was really worth it, if dying really was worth it for the person he loved most, for the hero who continued to shine brightly in his life and carry him forth.

His mind constantly swiveled back and forth between two completely different mindsets, something he hated so much but couldn’t stop. He wanted the pain to stop, he wanted to just die and be done with it, but there was  _ something _ that stopped him from accepting the disease for what it is,  _ something _ that refused to let him die.  _ Maybe Senpai’s stubbornness infected me,  _ Midori pondered, sighing as he rested his chin on his hands, using his knees as support for his elbows. The silence and emptiness of the bathroom gave Midori a sense of relief, glad that there was no one else in it, though that thought was quickly interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door swinging open.

“Midori-kuuun? Are ya okay? What’s takin’ so long?” Tetora’s voice echoed through the bathroom, footsteps slowing as though he had ran quickly, though Midori noticed that his footsteps were accompanied by another. 

“Hey, hey, Midori-kun~? You’ll be late for class if you don’t come back, you know~? I made cookies for everyone, and we’ve been waiting on you so we can all share!” Hinata’s voice quickly followed, and Midori wasn’t sure why he’d pulled his knees up close to his chest, trying to hide from his classmates when he knew that it was pointless because there wasn’t exactly a simple way to go invisible in a stall.

“Um… I’ll be out in a second,” he mumbled, defeated. Making sure no other flowers would be sneaking his way out of his throat, he shakily opened the stall door. Sure enough, Hinata and Tetora were standing near the sinks, Tetora giving him a look of concern while Hinata glanced at Midori’s reflection in the mirror as he fixed his hair.

Tetora looked at the ground for a few moments, shuffling his feet before lifting his head again to look at Midori, meeting his dull gaze. Hinata finished fixing his hair, the bright ginger simply side-glancing at the other two boys. “Listen, Midori-kun… We know somethin’s up with you,” Tetora began, biting his lip and glancing away as he tried his best to choose his words carefully. “We’ve known for a while. You’re always taking sick days, leavin’ in the middle of class and practice… Stuff like that. I know you usually don’t want to go to practice or school and stuff… But this just… feels different from that.” Midori can’t find the courage to look him in the eye as Tetora continues. “We’re… We’re not upset or anything, don’t worry! But you can trust me, you can trust Hinata-kun, our other classmates, Ryuseitai… Just tell us what’s goin’ on, please.”

“Ya look like you’re hurtin’... I dunno if it’s manly or not, but it’s okay to lean on us every now and then, y’know?”

That was the breaking point for Midori. The taller boy’s shoulders began to rise and fall in an erratic rhythm as tears spilled from his eyes, and he shook his head and attempted to stop what was already a broken dam by burying his face in his hands, teardrops soaking the fabric of his sweater. He sniffled, wiping tears as they came. “I…” Where was he even supposed to start? How would he be able to explain the flowers? It felt as though he were growing smaller with each moment of passing silence, the quiet only accompanied by Midori’s soft  _ hics _ . Until Midori felt a strong pair of arms wrap around him, and a gentler hand touching his arm.

“We’re here, Midori-kun,” Hinata said quietly. “I’ve been there too, you know? It’s okay to cry sometimes, even if you feel like it’s a lot.” Midori nods, retracting his hands from his face to look at Tetora holding him in a tight hug, his amber eyes deep in thought. Hinata simply had a hand slowly patting his back, his smile understanding though his eyes were a bit distant, as if remembering his own experiences.

“Um… Well…” Midori doesn’t exactly know how to explain it, so he wills himself to think about  _ that guy _ again, and suddenly, the flowers were making their way up his throat again. He coughed once, then twice into his hands, opening his palms to reveal a tiny bunch of white anemones, blood droplets staining the petals with a deep red. Hinata gasped, and Tetora pulled away to hold a hand up to his mouth. It was evident that they both knew exactly what it was when they glanced at each other, then back at Midori, more worried than ever.

“Who is it…?” Hinata wonders out loud as Midori sweeps the anemones into the trash can, clearing his throat and sniffling once more, not bothering to care about his tearstained face. “It’s Taichou, isn’t it?” Tetora guessed, a hand placed on his chin. Midori blinked, taken aback at how quickly Tetora of all people had figured it out. “C’mon, it’s super easy if ya just see the way ya look at him during practice sometimes.” Midori groans, his face starting to flush red. “I want to die… Is it really that obvious?” Did he really look at Chiaki that much? Midori was really starting to see the appeal of dying to this disease.

“I mean, it’s not super obvious, and Taichou is, well… Taichou, so I think you’re fine!” Tetora says, before quickly covering his mouth. “...Well, you’re not really fine… S-Sorry, Midori-kun…” Midori stares at the ground. “It’s fine, Tetora-kun… He knows I have it already, actually, so…”

“What?! Why didn’t ya tell him then?”

Midori winces. “I… I just don’t think he…” His sentence is interrupted once again by a rather violent coughing fit, more red anemones crowding in his mouth and spilling onto the floor. Hinata picks one of them up as Tetora quickly moves behind Midori, patting his back to ease the flowers out of his system. “Anemones… I know a little bit about flower meanings, you know. The most significant meaning of it is ‘anticipation’, but it can also mean ‘fragility’ too~. I bet Midori-kun reeeally wants to confess to Morisawa-senpai! Am I right or am I right?” Midori cleared his throat and looked away in embarrassment. “Can we at least not talk about this in the restroom…? Let’s go back to class, I can just tell Shino-kun and Mashiro-kun about it too…” 

Reaching out to others was a new concept for Midori, but somehow he had managed to explain his situation as well as his sickness to his other two classmates, who were quite surprised to hear it. “Wow, you really fell hard for Morisawa-senpai, huh…” Tomoya began, munching on the cookies that Hinata had given out to everyone. Midori slammed his head on his desk, groaning. “That guy is an idiot, but I’m the bigger idiot for falling for him, really… Is there a way to die from this disease faster…?”

He was met with gentle pats on the back. “I-It’ll be okay, Takamine-kun!! I believe in you… I’m sure Morisawa-senpai will have a positive response for you…!” Hajime says quietly, joining the others in patting his back. Hinata returns to his seat, leaning his chair back and forth as he balanced it on two legs, taking a bite of one of the cookies he had made. “Hey..~ You gotta promise us you’ll tell him soon, Midori-kun.” Hinata may be resting his feet on a desk and staring at the ceiling with a cookie in his mouth, but his words held a certain seriousness that caused the others to all look at Midori with looks of concern and slight pity. 

“...I know, I need to tell him, but…” Midori looks down at his uneaten cookies, topped with green frosting and given tiny smiley faces. “I’m just… afraid. You get this disease because they don’t feel the same way, right…?”

Unexpectedly, Tetora was the first to speak up. “...Not necessarily. I dunno if ya know, cuz I didn’t know this ‘til recently either, but Taishou caught that… hanahaki disease thing that ya have, except it was last year.” Midori lifts his head and looks at Tetora, recalling the story from when Chiaki had told it to him. “Ah, Morisawa-senpai told me about it… He said the flowers disappeared after Kiryu-senpai realized that Hasumi-senpai felt the same way about him.” Tetora nods, smiling. “Yeah! It’ll probably be the same for you, y’know? I never really know what that guy’s thinkin’... I don’t think anyone does, but you gotta have hope, Midori-kun!”

_ Hope.  _ Would hope alone really save him from the heartbreak he had prepared himself for…?  _ No, _ Midori thought to himself, but he realized something as he looked around at his classmates. Though they weren’t experiencing the pain of coughing up flowers and heartache, they were there for him, and so were the other members of Ryuseitai.

He wasn’t alone.

“... You’re right, Tetora-kun,” Midori says as he takes a deep breath, shoving a cookie in his mouth. “I’ll be brave… I’ll tell him as soon as I can, even…!” Midori felt a surge of confidence swell up within his heart, and he immediately pulls his phone out to text his senpai to meet up somewhere. However, before he can even open the messenger app, the bell marking the end of lunch rings, and as usual, the teacher is ready to walk right in to resume the lessons. Midori can only slip his phone back in his bag as he and the others rush back to their seats and open their notebooks.

It’s hard for Midori to concentrate on the lesson, and he simply doodles little stars and cute animals next to his notes, glancing at the window to the left of him. He was seated at the third row of the classroom, so it wasn’t a common occurrence for him to be scolded for not paying attention in class. In some cases, he’d fall asleep for the duration of the entire class, and the teacher wouldn’t pay mind to it at all. Lately, though, it had been getting harder and harder to fall asleep due to his constant sore throats and aching lungs.

Chiaki consumed nearly all of his thoughts. He imagined a variety of different ways to confess to his upperclassman: under the stars on the rooftop of the school, giving him a box of chocolates for Valentine’s day which was soon approaching in a month, whispering it to him under the falling cherry blossoms in the spring… He shook his head free of the fantasies. Life wasn’t a shoujo manga, and there wouldn’t be time to wait for the perfect moment. He knew why his classmates wanted him to say something to Chiaki soon.

Sooner or later, the flowers grown deep within his heart would wilt, and with those flowers his own life would vanish too. A part of him was still ready to give up on his feelings and wither away with the flowers, but it dawned upon him that… People cared for him. People wanted him to stay on this earth. His parents, his brother, his unit, his classmates… All of them held Midori dear to their hearts, and though it was hard for him to realize it, he truly felt the same way too. The way Chiaki looked at him with pleading eyes, as though he were so desperate to keep Midori living in this world… It was genuine. The looks of concern for him, the looks given by his classmates that pleaded him to tell Chiaki before it was too late… They were all genuine. Midori smiled to himself, letting the rest of class fly past as he stared off into space, for once happy.


	4. resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midori feels resolve to continue living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this update is a little bit short, but i believe there are only one or two chapters left after this one which i am still in the process of writing (oops) so! thank you all to everyone who has read the fic and gave kudos/comments, it really makes me happy!
> 
> because i'm still writing the next chapter(s), it may be more than a week before i update but we'll have to see!

As Midori moved the familiar green curtain aside to enter the shop, he politely greeted his parents as always, quickly giving the excuse that he had homework so that he wouldn’t have to do any chores or work for the greengrocer. Rushing up the stairs, he entered his room and locked it, hanging his blazer on the side of his bed and placing his bag near the door. He immediately leaped under the sheets that welcomed him with open arms, grabbing his phone and opening the messenger app again.

Opening his chat with Chiaki, he begins to type a message, his intent being to ask him to meet somewhere after school so that he can finally,  _ finally _ confess his feelings to him and get it over with before the flowers killed Midori for good. “ _ Everyone believes in me,”  _ he thought as he continued to type. He looked at the message he’d written in the text box. 

New message:  _ morisawa-senpai can we meet in the park after school _

Midori shook his head, deleting the message. “Too forward… Maybe too casual…” He mumbled before typing a more formal message.

New message:  _ Morisawa-senpai. Can we meet in the park after school? There’s something I want to talk about with you. _

Nope, too formal. Too much grammar for it to be normal coming from him. Midori furiously tapped the backspace key, throwing his phone across the bed and shoving his face into the nearest pillow he could find. He felt his throat close for a moment as he coughed up a lone anemone petal, sighing and wondering if there was even a chance that Chiaki could reciprocate his feelings. “ _ But maybe he does… How am I supposed to know…? I really don’t want to do this, it’s too scary…”  _ he sighs, picking up the anemone petal that had somehow made its way past his throat. “Geez, what’s with all the anemones lately…?” He mumbled out loud to himself. He recalled that Hinata had said they meant  _ anticipation _ . Was he anticipating Chiaki’s response? Had he been anticipating confessing from the start?

“Ugh, but what would come out of it…? There’s no point if he doesn’t even feel the same way about me… I’ll just end up dying, which at this point is fine with me…” Midori pulled the covers over himself and reached for the numerous plushies sprawled out on the edge of his bed that was against the wall. Each of them were all smiling at him, bright colors accompanied by a gentle softness that seemed to soothe Midori’s very core. He sighs, looking at the plushie he’d obtained in his hands: a watermelon with two big seeds for eyes, with smaller seeds speckling the rest of the fruity red area. He smiled and held the plushie up to his face, closing his eyes and appreciating the soothing aura it seemed to bring with it. Not even a few moments after he had closed his eyes, his phone chimed with a new message. He blinked, then reached across the bed to grab his phone, only to let out a grumble of frustration. Of course, it had to be Chiaki of all people messaging him. 

RYUSEIRED:  _ Takamine! You were typing for a bit, is everything okay?! _

...Had he caught Midori typing earlier? God, was this guy just  _ waiting _ for someone to message him so he could reply in like, ten milliseconds when he had the chance? Midori knew that probably wasn’t true, but it didn’t stop him from slapping both hands on his face in embarrassment. He fought the fierce itching in his throat and sighed, typing a quick message in response to him.

greenstar29:  _ yeah _

greenstar29:  _ sorry fell asleep _

RYUSEIRED:  _ It’s alright, Takamine!!! Did you need something from me??? _

Midori bit his lip, trying to manage both his growing anxiety and his scratchy throat at the same time. He got up from his bed and grabbed the water bottle that he always had handy, taking a few sips before looking back down at his phone.  _ “I have to ask him… I’ll die for real if I don’t tell him at some point…”  _ He felt petals tickle at his throat, not as itchy thanks to the water he’d drunk a few moments ago, but still causing an uneasy feeling as he typed his message, taking deep breaths as he went. Breathe in...

greenstar29:  _ I wanted to ask you something actually _

greenstar29:  _ can we _

greenstar29:  _ meet somewhere after school tomorrow _

...And breathe out. There was no turning back now, he had hit the send button. He closed his eyes as he saw the typing indicator pop up on screen, as if he were afraid to continue any further, because truly, he had no idea what could happen next from here on. Speculating would only make him more anxious, Midori had concluded. He gulped as he heard his phone chirp with another new message from Chiaki. Slowly, he opened his eyes to read it.

RYUSEIRED:  _ Of course, Takamine!!!! However, Ryuseitai practice was only cancelled because of a few errands I needed to run after school… Do you mind tagging along? _

greenstar29:  _ sure i guess _

RYUSEIRED:  _ Great! I’ll meet you at the school gates after school tomorrow, then!! _

greenstar29:  _ see you then _

Midori set his phone down on his dresser and buried his face in a pillow, doing his best not to scream and invoke concern from his parents or brother. His throat was undeniably sore, too sore for him to ignore, so he sighed in resignation as he trudged across the hall to his bathroom, staring at the toilet as he kneeled in front of it. He had already grown used to the ordeal months ago, but it felt as though each time he coughed up flowers of heartache, his life force was being drained, little by little. It had never fully hit him that he would truly die if he let the hanahaki disease consume him. He would be  _ gone _ . 

And despite everything he’d said all year… Despite every “I want to die” and “Please end me” and other things he’d said in a fit of depression… Somehow, he just couldn’t accept that.

_...I don’t want to die. There are people here… They all care for me. My parents, my brother, my unitmates, my classmates… Morisawa-senpai… They’re all cheering me on. _

_ I won’t give up.  _ After momentarily relieving the tight feeling in his lungs by coughing up little bursts of rose and daffodil petals, Midori returned to his room, resolve in mind.

Late afternoon quickly became nighttime as he sat at his desk doing homework, tapping the strawberry mascot at the top of his pen against his cheek as he writes the solution to the final problem of his math homework. Sighing, he puts his finished work in his bag and heads into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Once he’s done, he slips into the comfiest pajamas he could find and slips under the covers, looking at his phone one final time before setting it to charge on his dresser. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Tomorrow, he’d finally know how Chiaki felt about him… and he’d finally know if these feelings he felt would take his life or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> while my friend was reading through this she pointed out how cute it was that midori had hugged a watermelon plushie because watermelons are green and red and honestly i didn't even notice until she pointed it out so thank you @ my friend
> 
> also midori is me texting someone i'm not gonna lie here


	5. breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midori takes every chance he can to breathe, even when he feels like he's drowning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is, the final chapter of forevermore! sorry this took so GODDAMN LONG one writing block came after the other and college and this and that but no more excuses! it is here now and that is what matters <3 please enjoy the longest but most fulfilling chapter of this story as i finally wrap up this fic!
> 
> >>> slight tw for descriptions of suicidal thoughts and anxiety attacks

As the familiar tune of Midori’s alarm reached his ears, he opened his eyes, rubbing them until his eyesight was clear again and he could blink with ease. Ah, that’s right. “ _ Today’s the day…”  _ Midori thought as he shuffled to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He contemplated using the hair gel that had gathered up a pile of dust in his bath cabinet, but decided against it. He didn’t want to put too much effort into his appearance, Chiaki would probably think he was being sincere if he simply went as himself. 

After spacing out while staring at himself in the mirror, he proceeded to wash his face and brush his teeth, taking a moment to check the time on his phone. “Ah,  _ shit…  _ He’ll be here any second… Mmh, but I don’t wanna rush-- Oh, whatever…” Midori’s words were slightly muffled due to the toothbrush in his mouth, but he quickly finished up and rushed out of the bathroom to throw his uniform on. As he was pulling his cardigan on, he failed to notice the familiar voice downstairs calling for him, too rushed and too absorbed in his own thoughts to think about anything else.

Downstairs, Chiaki stepped into the greengrocer with a bright smile, beaming at Midori’s parents who happily greeted him with polite bows. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Takamine, and good morning!! Good luck with sales today!” Chiaki politely bowed back and waved at both of them, and in turn they gratefully smiled at Chiaki, then returned to their morning duties, running around the store to make sure everything was correctly set up. 

“Midori is probably getting ready for school still,” his mother spoke, her expression a bit apologetic. “It seems like he’s been getting up later and later… Won’t you go up there and check in on him?” Chiaki nodded enthusiastically. “Sure! We’ll be back down in a moment, then!” He moved toward the doors at the back of the store, one unlabeled, the other labeled ‘Supply Closet’. He opened the unlabeled door to find a staircase leading to the Takamine household and closed it quietly behind him, bounding up the steps. 

He’d only been inside Midori’s actual house a few times, a couple of them being during the summer, along with the time he’d discovered Midori’s hanahaki. Walking down the hallway, he took surprisingly quiet steps, soon finding himself in front of Midori’s door, contemplating whether he should knock or not. Chiaki figures it’s more polite to knock, so he gently knocked three times on the wooden door. “Takamineeee? Good morning! Time to get up and go to school! You’ll be late if you don’t!”

Behind the door, Midori had been busy adjusting his uniform tie until a knock at the door disrupted his spacey thoughts, and he was quickly snapped back to reality when that all too familiar voice called his name, startling him so much that he tightened his tie a little too much, launching him into a coughing fit. He clawed at the tie and quickly unraveled it, but it was too late for the burst of flowers and petals that had come with the coughing fit, sprawled all over the floor, thankfully no blood accompanying the flowers he’d produced. Chiaki, suddenly concerned at the coughing on the other side, rested his hand on the doorknob. “Takamine…? Are you okay?”

Midori looked at the closed door in front of him, still recovering from the sudden surprise of Chiaki showing up in front of his bedroom door. “U-Um… I-I’ll be out in a moment, Morisawa-senpai…!” He quickly scooped up the petals that had fallen on the floor with his hands and emptied them into the trash can, brushing any stray petals off of his blazer and tying his tie properly. He opened the door and was greeted with a sudden hug, Chiaki’s embrace enveloping him for just a few moments. Midori could feel more petals coming up as he pulled away and backed up, a hand moving to cover his mouth, recovering himself before he could break into a coughing fit again. For a moment, Chiaki’s expression turned into one of pity, his gaze a bit sad, but soon after placed a smile on his face once again as he patted Midori’s back.

“Good morning, Takamine!! Let’s do our best today! We’ll be hanging out after school, after all, won’t we? Let’s look forward to our heroes’ mission!!” Chiaki laughed earnestly and wrapped an arm around Midori as he sighed exasperatedly, grabbing his bag that was on the floor next to his bedroom door. “I seriously don’t understand how you can be so overwhelmingly annoying in the morning,” he mumbled as Chiaki practically ushered him out of his bedroom, an arm securely wrapped around his shoulders. 

Midori expected the sunlight to greet him the same way Chiaki had, blinding and overwhelming, but instead he was met with a cloudy sky and a chilly breeze that flew past the early bird shoppers walking down the sidewalk, going in and out of stores. He sighed again as he brushed Chiaki’s arm off his shoulder, turning towards him. “You said there were some errands you needed to run after school. What did you mean by that…?” Chiaki smiled and stuffed his hands in his blazer pockets, continuing down the path in the direction of school. 

“Well, you’ll see! Don’t worry, with you by my side, I’ll definitely be able to accomplish what I need to after school!” Midori seriously doubted he’d need him specifically, but didn’t say anything. The two heroes continued on without conversation, with Chiaki humming one of Ryuseitai’s songs, and Midori running every distraction through his mind so that he didn’t have to break out into another set of coughing in the middle of the street. At some points, Chiaki would try to get Midori to hum along with him, and Midori would grudgingly follow along and hum his parts in songs.

After the second round of  _ SUPERNOVA REVOLU5TAR _ , the school gates came into view, students entering and gathering into groups, making small talk before having to cross the campus to get to their class. Midori checked the time-- they still had 15 minutes until class started. He turned his head to see Chiaki greeting people as he passed them. Chiaki turned to look at him and smiled almost dazzlingly, nearly causing Midori to cough up an entire bouquet of flowers.

_ “Jeez… That guy needs to realize the power he has…” _ He thought as they entered the inside of the building, immediately being blasted with a wave of warm air.  _ “I need to seriously get away from him before I start coughing up flowers in front of everyone in the school hallway… Then I’ll really want to die…”  _ Midori turned to look at Chiaki, sleepy blue eyes gazing at him. “Morisawa-senpai, I’m going to get going to class now…”

Chiaki turned toward him and flashed him another smile. “Of course, Takamine! I don’t want you to be late!!” He patted him a little too enthusiastically on the back, earning him a small  _ oof _ of surprise from Midori. “Have fun in class!! Do your work!! Remember, meet after school near the entrance gates!” Sending him off with one more smile, he marched off in the direction of the staircase, heading to his own classes.

As Midori poked his head through the doorway to classroom 1-A, he looked around to see his other classmates talking amongst themselves. Hajime was weaving a thread and needle through what seemed to be an unfinished outfit, while Tomoya was reading a book, the two Ra*bits members maintaining a conversation while doing so. On the other end of the room, Tetora and Hinata seemed to be immersed in a card game. From where Midori was standing, he could see that Hinata was about to win, though Tetora looked like he was having trouble figuring out how the game even worked.

Midori chuckled softly to himself as he entered the classroom. Of course, to anyone else this day would just be another normal, boring day where the same things happened and life continued on as usual, but to Midori this day would truly change his life, depending on how Chiaki felt about him. The looming pressure of the confession weighed heavily on his shoulders, and he almost wanted to wish he could die, and yet…

_ “Not right now,” _ he thought, pushing away the wandering urge to say those same words. He sat down at his seat, for once determined to get through his lessons. Of course, that prospect would soon fail, because immediately after the teacher began talking, his drowsiness levels rose, and he soon lowered his head down on the cool, wooden desk, paying no mind to the lesson as he daydreamt about his ideal confession, in a small boat under the stars… With lanterns spotting the sky all around them as he held Chiaki’s hands in his own… Wait, wasn’t that from a movie? 

Lessons flew by as he continued to space out, imagining himself and Chiaki in various scenarios that he’d previously seen in movies, and soon enough he was waving goodbye to his classmates, who scattered and all went their own ways, whether it be to on-campus jobs, unit practice, or simply straight home. Taking a deep breath, Midori bit his lip, endless possibilities running through his mind as he made his way to the school gate. This wasn’t going to a perfect movie confession, Midori knew that, but he  _ still  _ just didn’t feel prepared enough for it.

Chiaki was already at the school gate, leaning against the brick wall as he watched the students exit the school. His eyes lit up upon seeing Midori walk out and look around, quickly skipping over and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Takamine! Are you ready? Do you need to do anything before we head over there?” Midori shook his head, not trusting himself to use his words. “Alright! We’re heading back to the shopping district, actually!” He rushed off in the direction of the town, walking at a fast pace as Midori was forced to practically run to catch up with him, sighing heavily.  _ “Seriously…? What the heck is he going to do at the shopping district? Can’t I just go home…?”  _

The walk luckily passed by quickly, and though Midori’s feet were beginning to protest, he ignored it in favor of staying on task. He had to tell Chiaki, while he still had the courage to. As the shopping district came into view, Chiaki’s walking pace only grew faster as he practically jogged, leaving Midori in the dust. “Hey, don’t just rush off like that…!” Midori said before speed walking quickly to catch up with him.

Midori nearly crashed into Chiaki when he abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the shop that was now in front of them. They were in an area of the district he wasn’t too familiar with; he hadn’t really cared to memorize what shops were where other than the shops nearest to his family’s greengrocer. Chiaki remained silent as he stepped forward and entered the shop, Midori following close behind, and now it was Midori’s turn to be rendered speechless as he finds himself staring at shelves upon shelves of toys and stuffed animals. Chiaki turned to Midori, a hand scratching his neck as he guiltily smiled.

“S-See… That errand I told you I was running... I actually just really wanted this one limited edition hero figurine that came out today… So I wanted to come here as soon as I could before it sold out!” Midori swore Chiaki’s cheeks were tinted red as he chuckled to himself. He sighed, shaking his head as he massaged his forehead with two fingers.

“Why am I not surprised… Just go and get it, I guess.” Chiaki flashed him a smile and a thumbs up, quickly running to the new arrivals section. He really had to delay his confession for a  _ toy _ . “ _ Remind me again why I’m in love with him,”  _ he thought to himself as he huffed, deciding on weaving his way through the aisles and looking at the shelves full of dolls and figures alike. As he turned into the next aisle, he nearly staggered backwards and felt his jaw drop as he gasped.

Shelves upon shelves upon even more shelves of stuffed animals filled the aisle, from brightly colored animals with cute, beady eyes, to other objects like fruits with tiny smiles that left Midori’s heart aching, to basic shapes like circles and hearts with faces that made Midori want to pull his wallet out and throw all of his money at them. Imaginary tears filled his eyes as he slowly approached a nearby plushie, a white dog with black ears that wore a yellow raincoat. He picked it up, sighing happily as he hugged it.

And as he hugged plushie after plushie, he felt himself float up into the clouds, forgetting Chiaki, forgetting his confession, his sickness, and his troubles. He only felt the fluffy, soft confines of plushies as he picked a few from the shelves and sat down, cradling three at once in his arms, rocking from side to side. A smile found its way onto his face, and he closed his eyes, snuggling comfortably into the plushie in front of him: a brown cat with big eyes and a healing smile, dressed in a green raincoat with a single red heart-shaped patch sewn onto the back. The cold, hard floor of the toy store was nothing against the soothing and healing energy of the plushies in Midori’s arms that made him feel as though he were sitting among the clouds.

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there on the floor next to the shelves, but he was quickly pulled out of his dreamy trance when he heard a voice call out his name.

“...kamine… Takamine…? Takamineeee!”

Midori blinked, and suddenly, he was back in the real world, where unfortunately, he wasn’t holding Rainy Cat and Rainy Dog’s paws, prancing through a meadow full of daffodils on a cloudy day, where the sun’s rays just barely peeked through the clouds. In front of him was Chiaki, who had knelt down and was currently waving a hand in his face. Midori’s face bloomed bright red as he quickly stood up from the floor.

“S-Sorry, senpai… I saw the plushies and I couldn’t help myself…” Midori began putting the plushies back to where they were on the shelves, taking one last look at Rainy Cat before turning back to Chiaki, who had a box in his hands, smiling wide. 

“It’s alright! I’m going to pay now, let’s go on to the cashier!” Chiaki announced, hugging the box with the figure close to himself. Midori walked ahead of him, past the aisles, and over to the cashier, standing in line. After a few moments, he noticed that Chiaki hadn’t emerged from the plushie aisle despite the line growing closer and closer to the register. After a few more moments after that, Chiaki finally emerged from the aisle, Rainy Cat tucked under his arm. Midori stared at him as he joined him in line, ready to pay for his findings.

“Senpai… you don’t have to buy Rainy Cat.”

“It’s okay, Takamine! Think of it as an apology gift for dragging you all the way out here for an ‘errand’ that just ended up being for my own enjoyment, hahaha!” Chiaki didn’t notice Midori clutching at the fabric of his cardigan instead of responding, his face tinted red as he went ahead to the register to pay. He quickly paid for the items and made his way back to the front of the store, with Midori quietly shuffling behind him, blushing furiously.

As they exited the store, the same cloudy sky from the morning greeted them, beginning to dim as the sun slowly began to sink, just a hint of orange accompanying the horizon in the distance. Midori quickly cleared his throat and tried to appear normal, though his face was still about as red as Chiaki’s Ryusei jacket. 

“Um… Thank you, Morisawa-senpai. For… buying Rainy Cat. I already have so many plushies and I’m sure you don’t have a lot of money, and yet…” Chiaki turned to face Midori and smiled so radiantly that Midori was sure he was the substitute sun to fill in the normal sun’s absence today as he chuckled warmly, brown eyes looking fondly at Midori.

“Really, Takamine, it’s okay! It’s the least I could do, really. And don’t worry one bit, I work a lot of jobs so-” Chiaki suddenly stopped speaking as he blinked, frowning as he looked up at the sky. “Ah… Did you feel that, Takamine?”

“Feel what?” Midori’s question was answered when he felt raindrops hit his cheek as he looked up at the cloudy sky. “Oh… Maybe it’s just a sprinkle or something…” 

His words go unheard by the sky, and the raindrops began to fall quicker and quicker until it was a steady downpour. Midori groaned, realizing he had left his umbrella at home, not expecting it to rain. Chiaki seemed unfazed by the drops of rain beginning to soak their blazers, lunging forward and grabbing Midori’s hand.

“Come on, Takamine! There isn’t much use in just standing here and letting our clothes get wet, let’s get over to your place as soon as possible!” Midori barely even has time to react before he’s being pulled by Chiaki in the vague direction of the greengrocer.

“I can walk myself, senpai…! Do you even know where the greengrocer is?!” Midori shouted as the rain began to come down even harder. Chiaki simply laughed and held Midori’s hand tighter. Midori would have cherished the warmth if rain wasn’t falling down on them like a waterfall and his blazer wasn’t already soaked, his cardigan and uniform shirt beginning to get wet along with it. He ignored the familiar scratching at his throat in favor of running to keep up with Chiaki and getting to the greengrocer as soon as they could.

Midori directed him towards the place, starting to recognize the shops that began to pop up as they kept turning and weaving through the passing people who were either running or just beginning to open their umbrellas, all varying colors. Chiaki was still enjoying every second of it, despite the two being able to feel and hear the water slosh around in their shoes.

Soon enough, a familiar green curtain popped up above the sea of multicolored umbrellas, and Midori nearly leaped through the doorway, heaving a large breath of air, suddenly thanking every single basketball practice he went to throughout the year for giving him the ability to control his breathing while running. Chiaki was simply laughing, eyes closed and crinkled, his dimples creasing his face in a way that made him seem almost angelic to Midori.

Midori pursed his lips and tore his eyes away from the laughing Chiaki, huffing in faux annoyance as he tried to calm his heart rate, only for his attempt to fail as Chiaki wrapped a still dripping arm around him. He unceremoniously squeaked and threw Chiaki’s arm off of him.

“Your arm is cold, Senpai!”

“But I’m always warm, Takamine!”

“W-Well, it’s still dripping wet…” Midori looked around the greengrocer and saw no one, which he found odd, since the store was still technically open. His momentary confusion was quickly put to rest when his mother burst through the back door that led to their house, holding a small pile of towels and rushing toward Midori and Chiaki.

“Goodness, you two are drenched!” Midori’s mother said, wrapping towels around the both of them and patting them down, escorting them further into the greengrocer so they wouldn’t block the entrance. “I would have told you to bring an umbrella, but this really came out of nowhere, jeez…” She paused and put a hand on her hip, her other hand on her forehead. “Well, you two go on upstairs and dry off. I have a shop to run still, you know.”

“Okay, mom…”

“Right away, Miss Takamine!” Chiaki bowed deeply to Midori’s mom and she smiled and waved them off. The duo took off their shoes and quickly headed upstairs into the apartment section of their home, trying their best not to get the wooden floor or the carpets wet. They made their way through the hallway and into Midori’s bedroom. Midori pushed the door open and cleared some extra space on his bed by moving some of the plushies from his bed to his desk and night table. He’d never banish them to the floor, no plushie deserved that.

“Um… You can change in the bathroom first, I guess,” Midori began, rummaging through his drawers for a fresh change of clothes, hoping to find his favorite carrot mascot patterned pajama pants and a plain green shirt to go with it. “Do you have clothes to change into…? I don’t know if you’ll fit in mine, but…” Midori pulled out the pajamas he was looking for before promptly freezing, realizing what he’d just uttered. Chiaki? In Midori’s clothes? There was no way he’d survive something like that, he’d probably just cough up every single flower in his body right there on the spot, and that would be it. Midori Takamine would be no more, cause of death: Chiaki Morisawa.

Chiaki seemed to have visibly frozen for a few moments before blinking and stuttering a quick “It’s alright! I… uh, have my gym outfit in my bag, so that works!” He swiftly grabbed his red bag and dashed out into the hallway. Midori took a deep breath and stopped himself from coughing up any flowers, slipping into his pajamas and running to the laundry room to throw his uniform in the washer. As he was walking back, Chiaki emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his gym clothes, his green jacket unzipped and his soaked uniform bunched up and tucked under his arm.

“I hope you don’t mind me staying here until the rain stops, Takamine!” Chiaki said with renewed energy, skipping across the hallway to join him. 

“Yeah, yeah, sure…” Midori took his wet uniform and threw it in the washer too, trying his best to mask the imminent fear with a neutral expression. “I hope you don’t mind me washing this here…” He mumbled when he emerged from the laundry room, where Chiaki was patiently awaiting with a small smile.

“That’s alright!! Tomorrow’s Saturday, isn’t it? I’ll just pick it up in the morning!” Chiaki slapped him on the back as they returned to Midori’s bedroom and sat on the dark green sheets on his bed, the mattress slightly dipping under their weight. The two sat cross-legged, Midori’s hands on his knees and Chiaki’s reaching into his book bag to pull out some papers. As the hero sifted through the papers, Midori allowed himself to get lost in thought, suddenly remembering the reason Chiaki was here.

_ “Besides that figure or whatever… I was supposed to meet with him to confess, which I still haven’t done.”  _ Midori mentally groaned, knowing that right here, right now was as good of an opportunity as any to do exactly that. He looked at Chiaki, his eyes meeting with Chiaki’s. The other looked away immediately, opting to glance around the room like he hadn’t caught Midori’s gaze. Midori only felt the ache in his chest and lungs grow as he bit his lip, trying not to let emotion get the best of him before he even started talking.

The muddled thoughts in his mind swam in a murky lake of self-doubt and slight denial, denying any possibility that Chiaki would actually love him back, doubting he’d make it through the next week alive. It was like he was drowning in a dark, dark ocean, catching only glimpses of the sunlight reflecting over the surface of the water, the good things about being in love, before being pulled back down by the strong current of his mind and the fatal disease that plagued his heart, his lungs, his mind. 

It felt like there would never be a way for him to breathe again.

Midori was flung out of his thoughts when he felt something soft being shoved into his arms. When he looked down, he saw that it was Rainy Cat, the plushie Chiaki had bought for him earlier at the toy store. Looking up, he saw Chiaki’s hands still holding onto the ears of the cat, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as his fingers drifted over the soft fabric.

“Takamine, what’s with the long face? It’s a weekend, you should be excited!” Chiaki’s eyes were bright, far too bright for Midori to even glimpse at without getting blinded. Then again, it wasn’t like he was a fan of eye contact to begin with. It took all of his power to not start crying for what seemed like the 100th time in front of Chiaki. Even if it would only be the second time, it was one too many times for him to live with.

“I… Sorry, senpai.” He wiped at the building wetness in his eyes with a sleeve, doing his best to pass it off as an eye itch. He held onto Rainy Cat as he tried to hold in a sea of tears just waiting for his most vulnerable moment. He felt empty, despite the person who could make him whole being right in front of him, looking at him with the slightest twinge of sympathy. The pounding of his heart felt as though it were ringing through his head, making his entire body beat along with it. The feeling was dizzying, the anxiety and heartache meeting to create a living hell in his heart, filling his mind with demons that whispered thoughts that floated through his head, hovering in the air, like poison gas waiting to kill.

_ You deserve to die. _

_ He’ll never feel the same way. _

_ How many more “Takamine”s will you hear before you finally drop dead? _

“Takamine...”

_ It’s no use. What’s the point? _

The voices grew louder, engulfing his mind with nauseating thoughts.  _ You don’t deserve him. You don’t deserve a thing.  _ His hands clutched Rainy Cat so hard that they began to shake.

“ _ Even after all of this pain, even if he doesn’t love me, I still love him,”  _ Midori thought, shutting his eyes tightly to prevent tears from running down his face.

_ But there isn’t a point in telling him that. Just die already. _

_ He’s going to leave you in the end. _

_ So just… d- _

“Takamine!”

Chiaki’s sudden raise in volume and two hands grabbing his wrists caused him to snap his eyes open, just in time for his gaze to meet Chiaki’s brown eyes, glistening with worry as he searched his face. Rainy Cat sat in his lap, smiling up at the two animatedly. Midori hadn’t realized it while lost in the deep voids of his mind, but his body had begun to visibly shake, and he had been quietly whimpering in a futile attempt to keep his tears in, his lip trembling as he felt his heart tense up. Chiaki’s eyes shook with an indeterminable expression as he looked over him, then he let go of his wrists in favor of wrapping his arms tightly around Midori, like he’d never let go.

“Senpai…” Midori’s voice was shaky.

“I’m here, Takamine. I’m always going to be here. I won’t leave. I’m here…” Chiaki’s own voice shook as he quietly spoke words Midori didn’t know he needed to hear so badly. He didn’t even notice when tears blurred his vision and fell in a steady stream, only feeling the overwhelming warmth comfort that flooded his mind and heart as Chiaki hugged him closer.

“ _ I love you”  _ were the only words that rang through his head as he pulled away from Chiaki, but didn’t fully move out of his warm grasp. Chiaki hooked his fingers through Midori’s, reassuringly giving them a squeeze before smiling at Midori.

“Everything’s going to be alright, Takamine. Ryusei Red will never let you be alone. As an ally of justice… When you’re feeling like… this, I’ll come running to you. I promise. I promise a hundred times… I promise until the end of time.”

“How do you just… know how to help me, senpai…?” A genuine question, because Midori’s tears had already stopped flowing. His tears had been replaced with a lingering warmth that made his body tingle with a feeling that made him feel like he was already in the clouds, when just a moment ago he felt like he was falling deep, deep down to a place he wouldn’t be able to escape from. Chiaki traced his thumbs over the space on Midori’s hand, making the tingles grow even stronger as Chiaki gazed at their intertwined hands with a small smile.

“Because… I’m just like you, Takamine. Remember what I said all those months ago? Sometimes the hero struggles with hardships too. I’m not perfect all the time, and I get bad thoughts too, but I deal with it a little differently.” Midori barely had time to mumble a small  _ “I…” _ before Chiaki continued.

“People might say I was just like you a year ago, even two years ago. Well, they were right. I was alone back then. But I  _ don’t _ want you to suffer alone. I want you to shine brightly in Ryuseitai and make you free of your struggles… Please understand my wish, Takami-!”

“ _ I love you _ , Morisawa-senpai.” was all Midori could quickly gasp out before shutting his eyes and throwing himself into Chiaki’s arms as he stuttered with surprise. Rainy Cat tumbled onto the bed sheets next to them as the two hugged once again in comfortable silence.

“Wait, wait,” Chiaki broke through the momentary silence by pulling away from Midori. “You like me? As in Morisawa Chiaki? Ryusei Red? Burning sun of justice?”

“...Yes?”

“Really?! What? I-I mean… um.” Chiaki’s face was already growing red by the second, nearly as red as Midori, whose face burned practically the same color as a rose in full bloom, only now realizing what he’d admitted a few moments ago, a hand futilely trying to cover his face. Chiaki shook his head and swiftly looked back up, his eyes practically glowing.

“...Um, I… I also really like- no, I  _ love  _ you, Takamine!!” Midori looked at him with a puzzled expression, feelings of disbelief, confusion, happiness, and excitement swimming within his mind, bringing back the tingling feeling from earlier.

“I… I can’t believe… Is this real…? Am I dreaming…?” Midori pinched his cheek and closed his eyes. When he opened them, Chiaki remained in his sight, smiling widely. He pinched his arm until he hissed and scrunched his face up in an expression of pain. Chiaki was still there.

“It’s not a dream…? Then…” Midori blinked, expecting to wake up from this perfect dream at any moment. He felt at his throat, only to find that its previous soreness had disappeared, and the ache in his lungs and heart had vanished, leaving only the sound of his heart threatening to beat out of its chest. He tried forcing a cough, and felt a lone flower slip past his lips. He looked at it with trembling eyes to find that it was a single, bright red chrysanthemum, as if to say “ _ Be happy, Midori.” _

_ “You’ve found happiness.” _

Midori glanced up at Chiaki, who was looking at him with equally adoring eyes, wide with surprise, trembling with a certain excitement. He stared into his sparkling brown eyes, then glanced downwards, past his button nose… 

“Senpai…”

As his gaze fixed itself on his lips, he leaned in closer and closer, until he was mere inches from Chiaki’s face. His face felt warm, and he could feel Chiaki’s warmth radiating from his face, his cheeks flushed a bright red.

“Can I kiss you?”

A simple enthusiastic nod was the only exchange between the two before Midori slowly leaned in and connected their lips, and suddenly, everything felt  _ right _ , like they were the only two people in the world. It was like the two were flying among the clouds, and as they found purchase in intertwining their fingers together, Chiaki found himself leaning further into the kiss, half-lidded eyes momentarily glancing at the other before fluttering closed.

As they awkwardly fumbled with where to put their hands, they settled for clutching at the fabric of each other’s shirts, and by the time they pulled away for air, their limbs were practically tangled in the other’s. Chiaki’s warmth wasn’t overwhelming at all, rather wrapping Midori with a sense of comfort that he couldn’t quite describe in words. Chiaki held onto Midori’s hands, thumbs smoothly brushing over the surface of them.

“I really can’t believe…” Chiaki shook his head, his eyes glimmering with tears that had yet to fall. “Takamine… You kept your promise and all, but all this time… It was me?”

Midori bit his lip and looked away. He recalled the promise he had made, right after Chiaki had found out about his hanahaki sickness.

_ “Promise me you’ll tell them, whoever it is…” _

_ “...It hurts a lot to see someone you care about suffer because of something like that, you know?” _

“Morisawa-senpai… When you first made me make that promise… Were you afraid?”

“I… A little bit,” Chiaki said, looking down at the bedsheets. “You know, some really selfish part of me hoped that it was me you had feelings for! But that selfish thought turned into something melancholic. I thought ‘Is Takamine suffering this much because of me…? I don’t ever want to hurt Takamine like that!’ and I thought that if you didn’t say anything then, when I was right in front of you, then it probably wasn’t me.”

Chiaki halfheartedly chuckled. “I was fine with hiding my feelings as long as you eventually confessed to whoever you liked and ended up being happy.” He shifted on the bed and placed their hands in his lap.

“But for some reason… I just can’t seem to let you go, Takamine. I wanted you to know my feelings… and I hope that my method of getting them across came through to you.”

Midori’s lips curled into a smile. “Senpai… Thank you. Thank you for telling me about your past… Thank you for showing me your struggles as a hero.” His blue eyes sparkled in the dim light of his bedroom, and he leaned closer to whisper something even the gentlest passing breeze couldn’t steal.

_ “Thank you for being my hero.”  _

Chiaki smiled, and pulled Midori into one more embrace.

...

As the sun set, Chiaki ended up sleeping over, and as the two settled into Midori’s bed, Midori not wanting him to sleep on the floor, he turned away from Chiaki, arms wrapped around a cute sheep plushie, face still flushed with embarrassment as he buried his nose in the soft fabric.

_ “There’s no way Morisawa-senpai is actually in the same bed as me… I’ll probably wake up sometime. This just… has to be a dream, right?” _

“Hmm… Takamineee…” Chiaki sleepily mumbled as his arm draped itself over Midori, who tensed up momentarily before relaxing, slowly turning his body and placing his plushies back with the other plushies so that he was laying on his back, blankly staring at the white ceiling looming above him as Chiaki began to snuggle up to him. He felt Chiaki’s radiating warmth slowly enveloping him. It was the same feeling Midori felt when he hugged giant mascot characters in amusement parks, a homely feeling that made you never want to go.

Midori didn’t want to let go.

Hesitantly, he placed a hand on Chiaki’s, accepting the embrace as he looked upon his sleeping face, only to find his brown eyes gazing back at him, dimples scrunching up the corner of his eyes as he grazed his fingers over Midori’s before interlocking their hands again. Midori’s face grew hotter as he tried to close his eyes to keep himself composed. As the two laid close together, the only sound being the chirping of crickets outside, a thought floated through Midori’s head, like a passing cloud pushed by the wind.

“Senpai… What even are we…?”

It was true to say that they hadn’t established a single thing that evening, simply spilling their feelings out to each other and embracing each other when words failed them. Chiaki shuffled around under the covers as he repositioned himself, making a  _ hmm _ noise as he thought momentarily before looking back at him.

“I don’t know! What do you want us to be?”

“Well… I… I don’t know at all how relationships work even, s-so… I— I don’t know.” Midori shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do this, I might mess it all up and I’ll really want to di—“ His words were interrupted by a finger on his mouth, shushing him into silence.

“Don’t say that, Takamine! You only grow and learn with experience… I’ve had my share of, er, experiences, but… We can figure it out. You like me after all, right?”

“Uh… Yeah…” Midori was sure of it, but the thought of publicly holding Chiaki’s hand also made him want to burst into flames from embarrassment, especially when they were both still young. Midori had never thought of what would happen after he’d actually confessed, completely convinced he wouldn’t get any farther than that, that he’d wither with the flowers he’d coughed up for so long. To have Chiaki’s face inches from his as the two lay close to each other was like a distant dream to him, only his dream was now reality.

To think about relationships at his age was ridiculous, and even though he knew of middle school classmates who he’d kept contact with getting girlfriends, Midori didn’t find himself particularly relating to that, for multiple reasons. The idea of a relationship this early in his life just… didn’t appeal to him, and though he’d dreamed of the day he would be able to look lovingly into Chiaki’s eyes, that dream had clouded the reality that laid awaiting behind it. 

Midori suddenly remembered a conversation he had with his brother years ago, something about experiencing “constant contradictory thoughts in his teenage years.”  _ This  _ might have been what his brother had been warning him about, a constant battle in his mind that swung from one side to the other, and back again like a pendulum.

“Then it’ll be fine!” Chiaki’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “If you don’t feel ready, it’s completely okay to wait. We’re both still young, blooming heroes after all! There’s still a ways to go to our character development!”

“This isn’t a tokusatsu, senpai…” Midori gently mumbled, shifting in the bed and stuffing his face in the sheep plushie that he had been hanging onto, finding a sense of security in it as he usually did. Chiaki simply smiled at him and closed his eyes, shifting to a comfortable position in the bed and pulling the blanket over him so that it was covering him fully.

“I know, Takamine.”

Chiaki’s eyes somehow sparkled in the dim moonlight that barely shone through Midori’s window as he looked at him one more time, accompanied by a smile that shined even brighter. “I can wait, Takamine. We can both wait as long as we need to. We’ll still end up together in the end, right? It doesn’t matter what happens on the way there.” 

Midori smiled and closed his eyes, basking in the warmth that the other had to offer. “Then we’ll wait.” 

There were only a few shared moments of silence between the two before they both drifted off to sleep, comfortably in each other’s arms.

…

There’s a certain brilliance that accompanies wearing white on a clear, sunny day. Pale green and pale red accented the white decorations laid out within the garden where people excitedly conversed amongst themselves. The lighthearted atmosphere carried a certain familiarity in the air, nostalgia meeting anticipation as guests dressed in white and other bright colors seated themselves in chairs, the chatter settling down as all eyes turned behind them.

Midori, dressed in a regal white suit with a pale green tie, walked down the aisle, accompanied by a man not much taller than him, with kind and tender eyes that mirror Midori’s own sky blue eyes that gleam with an unspoken joy. At the end of the aisle stood Chiaki, also dressed in a sharp white suit with pale red accents, nervously adjusting his white tie, his gaze never leaving Midori. 

The walk down the aisle almost felt like an eternity of waiting for both Midori and Chiaki, but there was no denying the excitement that rushed through the two when they finally joined hands at the end of the aisle, the ceremony beginning.

It almost seemed to go by in a flash, and before the two knew it, the priest had finished talking, vows had been exchanged with shy smiles, and noise had begun rippling from the sitting crowd of old and new friends, exploding in cheers and whooping upon the words  _ “I now pronounce you two husbands.” _

And Midori didn’t think Chiaki could be more beautiful than he was in this moment, smiling up at the confetti that rained down on them like falling autumn leaves, tears of happiness glimmering as his fingers interlocked with his own, their rings shimmering brightly in the sunlight. And it was then that Midori truly did believe... that he would be forevermore in love with Morisawa Chiaki.

_ The end. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading to the end of this fic! As an afterword, I’d like to talk about what this fic means to me and the sort of sentimental feelings behind it. 
> 
> I began writing _forevermore_ in September 2017, two years ago, in the notes app on my phone. I hadn’t planned to go anywhere with it at the time, since I had only posted a few fics on ao3 at the time, but nonetheless, it began as a simple few paragraphs written while half asleep. Over time, as my writing skills began to develop and I published more fics, I went back and worked on _forevermore_ occasionally, and as the years went by, this fic developed with my own writing, and slowly began to form into something complete and concrete. 
> 
> This fic has seen a lot of me, a lot of my different stages of writing. It’s gone through meticulous editing, rewording, and it’s something that is very precious to me, it’s the work I can say that I feel the most proud publishing. That is why I say this, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading and supporting this fic. Even when I stopped updating, even when I hit my writer’s block, even if you’re reading this after it’s been completed. Thank you for supporting my writing. Thank you to the friends I screamed to about this fic, thank you for reading it and encouraging me even when I didn’t want to work on it at all, even when you weren’t into the series. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to see people support my writing.
> 
> Happy 2020, and as always, feel free to comment your thoughts on this chapter (or the fic overall), and you can follow me on twitter @/gaiaxylibrary!

**Author's Note:**

> please feel free to drop some kudos or comments if you want, and my twitter is @gaiaxylibrary!


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